prodigal sons

JACK

"Must be. Better take it easy the rest of the day just in case." The joke is entirely ruined by the sly look in his blue eyes, because Jack can count the days he's taken it easy on the fingers of one hand, and considering their arrival back in Torchline, today isn't likely to add to that number.

Entirely unsurprised that Kaisel hadn't realised there was a shark circling the waters where he'd been swimming, the Captain nevertheless snorts a laugh at the entirely perfect metaphor The Ark paints: a boy scout in a man's body indeed. "Maybe he'll spot you again one of these days, try to save you from some other entirely fabricated disaster," he remarks, falling quiet a second before the server arrives with fresh coffee and their breakfast.

"You ain't wrong there," he agrees of the party, reaching out with his fork to skewer a bit of molten pineapple on the end of his fork. "Give it a little time for the world to warm up more, an' we'll light the beaches up brighter'n Torchline at Longnight."

Refilling her own cup and setting the pot back down, Jack smirks around his bite of pineapple and gives an easy shake of his head. "I ain't your anchor - you already got one of those on your hull." All of which is to say she should feel free to approach the starry goddess on her own merit, if she wants to do so alone. "You never know - she might be keen to meet you too."

fight so dirty but you love so sweet
talk so pretty but your heart got teeth

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

i see nothing better, i'll keep him forever, like a vendetta

The Ark’s grin breaks wide and wicked, Jack’s particular dry brand of humour catching her and she laughs into the salt air drifting through the window, shoulders loosening as she settles more comfortably into the booth. Whatever taking it easy might mean for anyone else, she knows better than to expect it from him, especially now that Torchline has put the colour back into his face and a horizon worth chasing in front of him.

Her nails tap a quiet rhythm against the side of her freshly filled mug while she considers Kaisel, though the thought does little to soften her amusement. "I think he may have graduated from fabricated disasters by now." She lifts one shoulder before reaching for her breakfast. "It would be insulting to his capabilities if I didn’t give him something real to contend with next time." The condescension drips as generously as the lemon she squeezes across the fish, bright and sharp enough to cut.

At the mention of Safrin, her gaze rises to Jack’s. "No, you aren’t," she agrees, because he has never held her in place and she would resent him if he tried, but that does not make his judgment meaningless, though. "But she’s one of your most valuable contacts, and I’d rather know if you had a problem with it before I go making an impression." Her mouth curves slowly as she returns her attention to the goddess herself, the waters of her mind deepening with something intent and faintly predatory. Safrin has shaped more of Jack’s life than most beings could claim. "Given everything she’s done for you," she murmurs, her smile sharpening as her eyes lift again, "I'm quite keen to meet her too."

i see how this is gonna go, touch me and you'll never be alone

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

JACK

"Oh, so we're goin' for real disasters now? Let me know if I ought to stock up our gunpowder stores," Jack says with a cat-like smile that's half directed out to sea where he knows The Ark as a vessel is docked very close by. "Might be worth checkin' in with the Blackfox again sooner rather'n later," he adds almost as an afterthought, as if thoughts of impending and potential disasters go hand in glove with The Grey Road's guildmistress.

But that's a thought better fleshed out after things like breakfast and haircuts, and Jack draws the skillet closer even as his gaze returns to the redhead across the table. "The most valuable," he argues with a gentle nod; none of his other contacts have branded stars onto his face or bartered with living, breathing people as a result, put it that way. "I doubt you'd be capable of makin' anythin' but a good impression," he remarks, half to himself, though he doesn't hide the smirk he aims at her.

"She's done plenty for you too," he adds. "Rae might've given you legs, but she gave you wings far before then."

fight so dirty but you love so sweet
talk so pretty but your heart got teeth

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

i see nothing better, i'll keep him forever, like a vendetta

The Ark grins across the table. "That was already on our list, wasn’t it? Right below updating our wardrobes." Kaisel aside, there was no reason to leave their stores low. A visit to the Blackfox earns little more than a shrug from her. She fully intends to make herself a persistent irritation in Flora and Kaisel’s lives now that she has returned, but there is a difference between being troublesome and becoming enough of a problem to draw the guildmistress’s attention. The Ark knows how to keep one hand close to the flame without letting the whole ship catch fire.

She lifts one of the tacos and takes a bite, the bright bite of lemon cutting through the fish and making her pause long enough to enjoy it properly. A few more mouthfuls follow before she lowers it again, licking a trace of juice from her thumb as she considers Safrin. "She did," The Ark agrees. "But she did it for you." That does not make her any less grateful for the wings Safrin had given her, nor does it diminish the wonder of having once carried Jack through the skies before she had ever known what it was to walk beside him. Still, she is under no illusion that the goddess’s favour had fallen upon her without Jack standing at the heart of it.

Strangely, the thought inspires none of the jealousy that other women flora have felt in her place. Safrin’s place in Jack’s life is too powerful to feel like something The Ark ought to be possessive of or concerned with.  She'd be more upset if he captained another vessel even temporarily, than if he bore more children or other intimate moments with the goddess. "Maybe we can find her an offering while we’re out today?" A light laugh follows as she reaches for another squeeze of lemon. "You’d know better than I would what she likes."

i see how this is gonna go, touch me and you'll never be alone

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

JACK

"It sure was." Updating their wardrobes, tuning up The Ark at the shipwright's, replacing her sails (after the hottest season is out, anyway), replenishing all of her stores, ensuring there's a healthy supply of fountain water aboard, along with the usual maintenance and business Jack has planned, and it's going to be a busy future for them. Not that the Captain seems at all affronted by that, falling into easy silence to eat for a few minutes.

The Ark isn't wrong that Safrin had done all of the work at Jack's request, but he doesn't think that will much bother the goddess as long as his siren of a ship is as appropriately respectful and complimentary as he had been. "Well, then," he says quietly, pausing for another sip of coffee and not hiding the hint of pride in his voice, "congratulations on your first request for you."

It says everything that Jack hasn't even been bracing for the familiar emerald prang of jealousy that he might have felt from previous lovers; he knows the redhead well enough as she is now, he thinks, to have anticipated as much, and it just adds to the long list of reasons why this all feels right. "It'd be my pleasure. Been a long time since I walked a Torchline market anyway."

Falling quiet again to finish up with breakfast, it isn't long before the sunshine is starting to fall across their booth in golden bands that might just see some real warmth by midday. "A'right," Jack says with a smirk, "best I find a barber, since buzzin' all my hair off has been veto'd."

fight so dirty but you love so sweet
talk so pretty but your heart got teeth

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

i see nothing better, i'll keep him forever, like a vendetta

The Ark chuckles beneath her breath, though superstition immediately tightens a faint current through her thoughts. "She hasn’t said yes yet. Don’t jinx it." Safrin may have little reason to refuse what she intends to ask, but captains and sailors have never survived by speaking too confidently of favourable winds before they arrive, and The Ark is as susceptible to that instinct as any vessel ever launched.

She hums her agreement around another bite of taco, taking her time with the last of it before drawing the lemon from her fingertips with her tongue. The brightness of it sings across her mouth, sharp enough to leave her pleasantly awake and comfortably full by the time she drains the rest of her coffee. Their server approaches again with nerves showing plainly in every careful step, only to announce that the meal has already been taken care of and there will be no charge. The Ark’s gaze lifts to Jack, the colour of sunlit shallows gleaming with amusement as one maroon brow rises. "Well, well," she murmurs, a satisfied smirk spreading across her lips. "How about that." Pushing her plate back, she'll wipe her hands a final time on her napkin before sliding on her boots now that both they and she were completely dry. "Shall we?"

i see how this is gonna go, touch me and you'll never be alone

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

JACK

Her demand for him not to jinx it is received with little more than a wink, Jack finishing off his second cup of coffee but resolving to not further invite bad luck on her meeting with a goddess. Instead he ensures his pockets and their contents are also properly dried out after their dip in the fountain, the Captain already smirking to himself before the server gets too close, well aware of the conversations happening nearby at the bar.

"The ol' Torchline hospitality is alive an' well," he rumbles, flipping a coin towards the server that he nevertheless fumbles to catch before rising properly to his feet and feathering a hand back through his too-long hair. "Let's," he drawls, turning with an old arrogance grown from the burned bones that The Last Word was built upon, and with little care for her owner or her opinions.

"Now if you flirt too hard with the barber an' he cuts off my ear, I'll be angry with you both," Jack warns with a grin over his shoulder as they head out. Granted, the barber will receive the more permanent consequences of his ire, but it's still an outcome best avoided for everyone.

fight so dirty but you love so sweet
talk so pretty but your heart got teeth

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

i see nothing better, i'll keep him forever, like a vendetta

The Ark narrows her eyes with playful skepticism and hums as though she is willing to accept Jack’s interpretation of events. Hospitality may have played some small part, but fear and the sudden desire to earn favour with the man sitting in Flora’s booth feel far more likely. For a moment she wonders how the queen would react to discovering that her staff had already begun comping Jack’s meals, then decides she would much rather Flora remain ignorant and lets the thought brighten her grin as she rises.

Outside, the boardwalk is warming beneath the growing sunlight, salt air moving through her still-damp hair as she combs it back from her face. The Ark falls into step beside Jack with a low chuckle, her attention travelling pointedly towards his hair. "Are you telling me your barber isn’t competent enough to work while someone flirts with him?" A quiet tut follows, rich with false disappointment, as though her presence beside the chair would offer valuable professional training rather than an entirely unreasonable distraction.

The Ark gives the matter another moment of exaggerated consideration before arranging her expression into something perfectly innocent. "I suppose I’ll leave it to you to tell him what length you want, then." Her eyes, grown bright as tropical water beneath the sun now that they're outside, slide toward Jack as one maroon brow arches. "You know, if you think he’ll find it too distracting when I explain that it needs to be long enough for me to grab when you fuck me."

i see how this is gonna go, touch me and you'll never be alone

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

JACK

The morning is quintessentially Torchline at Flowerbirth, if not a little more chilly than usual, but Jack would take it in stride even had it been hammering down with rain. (Which is also not unheard of for this time of year). Breathing deep into the salt air and rolling his shoulders as they relax into a stroll along the boardwalk, he leads them slowly towards Haulani with his Kingmaker coat tossed back over one shoulder, apparently in no rush at all.

"Bold of you to assume I've got a barber," he fires back with a crooked smile. "Especially after so long away. Luckily I know a lot of fronts." And for a good front to work, there does have to be some element of skill involved in the lie. "Sayin' that though, you saw how some waiter who'd never laid eyes on me reacted, so I question anyone's competence." Full stop - and that's just a character trait.

"Oh? How magnanimous of you, lettin' a man choose his own hair length," the Captain drawls at her next point, grinning and stepping from weather-worn boards up onto bleached cobbles as they make for the city. "Might have to test it out after it's cut," he continues, playing at innocence. "For reference, though, where's best to grab for you?" Length-wise, he means, and he's talking about his hair right now.

fight so dirty but you love so sweet
talk so pretty but your heart got teeth

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

i see nothing better, i'll keep him forever, like a vendetta

The Ark chuckles beneath her breath as they leave the boardwalk behind. "You question everyone’s competence regularly." It is less criticism than acknowledgement of one of the qualities responsible for keeping Jack alive and several steps ahead of nearly everyone around him. Telepathy may give him access to weaknesses most people believe hidden, but suspicion has always been an instinct of his rather than merely a product of magic.

At his outrage over being granted control of his own hair, she glances over and rewards him with a wink. [says]"I’m at my most generous just after breakfast. Count yourself lucky." Her expression remains every bit as innocent when she adds, "well of course. How else would you know whether it was the right length?"

The question of what qualifies as the right length has The Ark stalling as she reaches out to catch his arm and draws him to a halt, attention settling on his hair with the sober concentration of someone inspecting rigging before a storm. Her fingers comb through the damp strands, gathering them gradually until her hand closes at the base of his skull around several inches of hair. She tests the hold with a measured pull, enough to tip his head without causing pain, while her mind supplies the practical context in vivid detail: Jack fucking her, her body braced beneath his with her fist locked in his hair to keep him exactly where she wants him as they both cum together in a crescendo of sound with Jack's own name rising to the top.

"About there," she decides casually, releasing him as though she hasn’t just waved an entire lurid tableau directly into his thoughts.

i see how this is gonna go, touch me and you'll never be alone

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

JACK

"If people weren't so regularly incompetent, maybe I wouldn't," Jack quips in easy response, his fingers straying to his back pocket as if considering a cigarette, but changing his mind upon realising there's a barbershop close by. Barking out a laugh at her comments about luck, while the glance he shoots over his shoulder at her is sharp with mischief, his tone remains unexpectedly warm. "Every day, love," he purrs. Every day he considers himself lucky, whether or not it's just after breakfast.

With their plans more or less set in stone for the hours immediately after his haircut, Jack doesn't expect her to stop them in the street; anyone else would likely have received little more than the Captain brushing them off, but for her, his steps slow. Her hands move over him like a lion tamer inspecting a big predator, Jack's expression remaining neutral even as his eyes grow deep and blue and molten at the scenario she paints right along the length of his magic.

Huffing out a laugh under his breath and letting his head tip back under the guidance of her fingers, he nods fractionally once he's been given leverage to do so. "I'm gonna fuck you 'til you scream after this," he says quietly, catching her wrist as it leaves his hair and giving it a warm squeeze, before departing entirely to head for the shop.

fight so dirty but you love so sweet
talk so pretty but your heart got teeth

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

i see nothing better, i'll keep him forever, like a vendetta

The Ark answers the warmth in Jack’s voice with a crooked smile, affection woven through it too tightly to disguise even if she has no intention of lingering in the softness. It catches instead in the bright gleam of her eyes, there and gone beneath something sharper by the time his hand closes around her wrist.

At the promise murmured between them, she arches a brow and meets him with a wolfish look, lifting her free hand between them with three fingers raised. "That makes three, Captain." The count is delivered with grave precision, as though she is recording offences rather than invitations she has every intention of collecting on later. When he releases her, she lets him continue toward the barbershop alone, amusement trailing warmly through her thoughts as she turns in the opposite direction once he goes inside.

The Ark spends the time among the market stalls, following whatever catches her attention while keeping an easy awareness of how long Jack has been inside. By the time he emerges, he'll find her stretched comfortably along a nearby bench with one leg crossed over the other and an ice cream held loosely in her hand. Her own is already gone; his had been purchased afterward, though the morning warmth has begun to soften it despite her efforts. She catches a slow drip with a deliberately salacious curl of her tongue, to the dismay and approval of several onlookers depending on their relationship statuses.

i see how this is gonna go, touch me and you'll never be alone

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

JACK

"That one wasn't a threat," Jack calls over his shoulder without looking back, though her wolfish smile is reflected in his expression as he leaves her to her own devices. For the best right now, truly, if he's expected to get through the next hour without getting any part of him lopped off by a barber's shears.

And it's a good hour for the both of them, as it happens - the business that is definitely a front for more nefarious activity happens to be owned by a friend of a friend; an old acquaintance finding himself down on his luck and, perhaps, in need of someone able to get things out of Torchline without drawing too much attention. Accepting both haircut and opportunity with the rough grace of any villain worth his salt, suffice to say that when Jack emerges, he feels just as good as he looks.

The Ark is easy to find even out of range of his telepathy; all Jack needs to do is follow the ping-pong of lusty thoughts (or disgruntled partners) to find her lounging like a mermaid out of water, enjoying the sunshine while it's out to play. For the Captain's part, he leans against the back of the bench to raise his eyebrows down at her like he's caught her sleeping on the job, his hair salt-tousled around his shoulders now, his stubble roguishly trimmed rather than messily grown in.

"Are you eatin' my ice cream, or just babysittin' it?" he drawls. "Because I've dragged people under your keel for lesser offences."

fight so dirty but you love so sweet
talk so pretty but your heart got teeth

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

i see nothing better, i'll keep him forever, like a vendetta

Jack’s shadow falls across her first, and The Ark tips her face up with a fiendish grin hidden partly behind a new pair of sunglasses. "Mmm, you have, haven't you." Another generous sweep of her tongue catches the softened edge before it can escape, slow enough to make the excuse entirely unconvincing, and only then does she offer it up to him.
"Well, I couldn’t just let it drip everywhere," she replies, as though the obvious solution had not been to leave his ice cream untouched.

Twisting on the bench, she takes in the cleaner line of his jaw and the tousled length left around his shoulders, visibly pleased that the barber had understood the assignment. The Ark hooks one finger over the bridge of her sunglasses and draws them down just enough to look at him properly over the top. "Looks like things went well in there," she observes, grin widening. The haircut and shave speak for themselves, but an hour is a long time for Jack to spend anywhere without finding some other thread worth pulling.

i see how this is gonna go, touch me and you'll never be alone

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3